It's been a long time since I've been excited over a new Pokemon game (there hasn't been one I've been remotely interested in since Yellow Version first came out). Over time, my enthusiasm over the latest releases in the Pokemon franchise has dwindled, and eventually, it vanished completely. Needless to say, my indifference toward the series didn't stop the creators of Pokemon to be any less successful or from cranking out game after game, and I'm surprised to say that I'm glad that it didn't. The reason for that is because that would mean X and Y wouldn't exist. These two new installments of the Pokemon series have piqued my interest in it yet again, something I thought would never happen.
After seeing the previews and hearing so much about X and Y, I became more and more curious to see what it was like. It actually made me want to play! The battles looked so much more detailed and the idea of character customization greatly appealed to me. I was also happy to find out that you could choose to be a male or a female character, something I've always wished for as a kid when playing either Red, Blue, or Yellow (I'm aware that one of the other Pokemon games that have come out previously allowed you to pick your sex too, but this is the first Pokemon game I've played where this was an option). Then, I found out about mega evolutions and the apparently new fairy-type pokemon being introduced, and I was sold! I just had to have it! My husband (a Pokemon fanatic) and I were thrilled and bought a copy of both games (he got X, and I got Y) on the very day they came out! As soon as we started playing, we couldn't put it down!
So far, I really am having a lot of fun with Y. Some of the things I really enjoy about it are Fennekin (yes, I feel Fennekin is reason enough to love this game), character customization (not only can you pick your character's sex, but you can choose your skin color and eventually further change your character's appearance by going to the hair salon and buying different clothes and accessories), Furfrou (I looove being able to choose different hairstyles for Furfrou a lot!), being able to grow berries and berry mutations (my husband told me you could grow berries too in Gold and Silver, but there weren't berry mutations), being able to trade anywhere with your friends, and being able to choose either Charmander, Squirtle, or Bulbasaur in addition to picking among a Fennekin, Chespin, or Froakie rather than them being completely replaced by the latter three. Another fun and rather addicting part of the game that I absolutely adore is being able to grow closer to your Pokemon by using Pokemon-Amie, where you can pet them, feed them pokepuffs (which look really delicious, by the way), and play mini-games with them and win them more pokepuffs! Doing all of this increases the bond between you and your pokemon, and the closer you are to them, the more likely they'll be able to shake off status ailments such as poison or confusion. There's also Super Training, which basically helps raise your Pokemon's stats through playing soccer and using punching bags, which is also quite enjoyable. It really sets itself apart from the Pokemon games that I was used to and that I grew up with.
If I had to complain about something, it would be how you have to sometimes be at just the right place or angle to be able to talk to some people or enter some doors. It can be quite annoying, especially when the person you're trying to talk to is moving. I also don't really like that you can't really use a pokeball on a pokemon in a horde unless you wipe out all the other ones first (especially when that horde happens to be a Zangoose surrounded by a bunch of Seviper and the Seviper kill it off before I can try to catch it!!!! It's a good thing my husband has X, so I can just trade him a Seviper for a Zangoose!). Luckily, this can all be easily overlooked as the game as a whole is great! Pokemon Y has been a pleasant surprise for me and has really surpassed my expectations of it. It actually not only makes me curious about future Pokemon games to come, but it has also made me want to play the previous games that had come before it and that I have ignored, as well! Good job, Game Freak, it appears that you've won me back over!
